It is one of the great tectonic features of Africa—caused by fracturing of the Earth’s crust—and includes the classical geologic structures associated with a rift valley.
This pair of images from NASA’s Landsat 5 satellite documents the short history of Death Valley’s Lake Badwater: formed in February 2005 and long gone by February 2007.
Rospuda Valley is home to one of Europe’s last pristine wetlands. A Landsat 7 image shows the patchwork of peat bog and agricultural fields around Rospuda Valley.